Flying to the Sun

Clay Ellis

* Pragmatism trumps pomp in the newest installment of the Smith Slider series, the Pivot (red, top). Stocked with three sets of interchangeable polycarbonate lenses—sienna brown, gold lite, and yellow—these handsome wraparounds ($99) are built for normal-sized mugs. Which is to say, they'll probably fit you. Sticky rubber keeps them clinging to your face, but even after your ride's over, you won't want to take them off. They're street qualified.

* More than just another pair of high-end polarized sunglasses, the Julbo Cap Horns yellow, second from top) are paragons of superior Gauloise fashion. Glare won't harm eyes shielded by these gray lenses ($96). Wraparound frames block side rays. Available in blue, black, yellow, and of course—because they're French—champagne.

* What you get in a pair of Panoptx Vipers (orange, second from bottom) is a set of sunglasses with the brainy features of a goggle ($125). A swatch of foam lining each eyepiece cushes up against your face, while vents help to keep the brown lenses from fogging when things heat up.

* Mount them on a Z-28 and awkers might peg the screaming, bawdy Water Jackets (blue, bottom) for an aftermarket hood ornament. But the 20 vents on Oakley's latest ($125) do more than just cruise—they spit out water when you take them into the brine. Other features read like a top-secret memo found behind a Los Alamos copy machine: "Unobtainium,"marketspeak for the rubber nose- and ear-pads that hug your noggin when you plumb surly eddy lines, and "Plutonite," a polycarbonate lens material that holds up well after those waterfall drops when your face meets your boat.